Memories of my Grandfather's comments about Andrew Clemens and the Sandbottles:
I own an original Andrew Clemens sandbottle. This particular bottle was made by Andrew Clemens for my great-grandfather in memory of his son, Henry, who died at an early age. My great-grandfather, Fred Scharpf (1856-1931), resided in McGregor, Iowa and knew Mr. Andrew Clemens.
My Grandfather, George A. Scharpf, often spoke of this sandbottle and how much it meant to him. He described the painstaking methods used by Mr. Clemens to craft the sandbottles. He also described the various colors and hues of the sand of the "Pictured Rocks" area near McGregor, Iowa. He also described how he and his brother would collect sand from the Pictured Rocks area.
In May of 1959, at age 19, I made a trip to from our residence in Springfield, Missouri to McGregor Iowa and Prarie du Chien Wisconsin with my Grandfather Scharpf. The purpose of this trip was to visit old childhood friends and places including Pictured Rocks. On June 1, 1959, I climbed the bluffs of Pictured Rocks and collected several colors of sand at locations directed by my grandfather. He told me that the colors of sand I collected would match colors in his Andrew Clemens sandbottle. Upon our return to Springfield, I compared the colors of my sand samples to colors of sand in the sandbottle and confirmed my Grandfather's prediction. The colors of my samples perfectly matched a number of the colors in the sand bottle. I still have the samples of sand I collected. It was at this time that my Grandfather presented the bottle to me as a gift. This trip was very special for me and the sandbottle has had great sentimental value for me ever since.
My Grandfather died in 1960. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to hear directly from him, on location in McGregor, some of the history of the Andrew Clemens sandbottles.
Lewis G. Scharpf, Jr.
June 11, 2000
Fair Haven, NJ